Yu Li woke from the darkness and immediately caught the sound of another breath in the room.
Someone was there!
Her hand shot out, gripping the person’s neck. Just as she was about to twist it, the sensation at her fingertips made her pause.
Yu Li’s hand froze.
At that moment, memories surged into her mind like a flood, causing her head to ache sharply. Within moments, cold sweat drenched her body.
—
Yu Li was a new human born after the apocalypse.
The so-called “new human” referred to genetically engineered soldiers cultivated as weapons. They were all born in a research institute, with no parents or relatives. At the age of three, they were sent to training camps.
Yu Li spent over a decade in the training camp. At the age of fifteen, she joined the eradication team, tasked with venturing outside the city to eliminate pollutants and mutated creatures.
From fifteen to twenty-five, Yu Li fought against various pollutants and mutants until she was tragically killed during one of her missions.
This outcome didn’t surprise Yu Li. Over those ten years, she had undertaken countless eradication missions and suffered innumerable injuries. Her body had long been contaminated. Even if she hadn’t died on a mission, one day her body would have collapsed due to excessive internal pollution. It was only a matter of sooner or later.
What she hadn’t expected was that she would come back to life.
Now, she was a rural girl named “Yu Li,” the eldest daughter of the second branch of the Yu family in Qingshi Village.
The Yu surname was prominent in Qingshi Village, and the Yu family was large in number.
The old master and mistress of the Yu family had five children—three sons and two daughters. One daughter married into the county, while the other married into a neighboring village. Each of the three sons married and had children, resulting in an ever-growing family.
The eldest son of the Yu family, as the firstborn, was deeply beloved by the old master and mistress. Even his wife was chosen carefully—a scholar’s daughter from the neighboring village.
The eldest son and his wife had four children, three sons and a daughter. Apart from the daughter and the youngest son, the two older sons were sent to study at the county’s academy.
It seemed that all the love and hope of the parents were invested in the eldest son. In contrast, the situation of the second son, who was born after him, was completely different.
The second son had a taciturn personality, was inarticulate, and focused only on hard work.
The old master and mistress didn’t like their reserved second son but didn’t treat him too harshly. When he came of age, they arranged for him to marry a woman surnamed Liu, who had fled south from the famine-stricken northern regions.
The second son and his wife also had four children. Unlike the eldest son, who had both sons and daughters, the second son had four daughters.
Liu, much like her husband, was honest and simple. Perhaps because she gave birth to only daughters and lacked a son to support her position, she was incredibly timid and worked tirelessly to avoid being looked down upon by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Especially since the third son and his wife married afterward and gave birth to three sons in a row, Liu’s confidence weakened further.
As the eldest daughter of the second branch, Yu Li not only had to help with household chores but also look after her younger sisters. She worked hard and ate little—a life of endless toil.
By the time she turned fifteen, she should have started receiving marriage proposals. However, since the Yu family had to support the two scholars from the eldest branch, the expenses were significant. The old mistress decided to demand high dowries for her granddaughters, which scared off any prospective suitors.
As a result, Yu Li remained unmarried at seventeen.
The Yu family wasn’t bothered by this. Since the family hadn’t split yet, keeping Yu Li at home to work made life easier for everyone.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that the third son’s wife brought back some news: supposedly, the Fu family in the same village was planning to spend twenty taels of silver to buy a servant girl from Tile Market to serve as a Chong Xi1Chong Xi (冲喜) is a traditional practice in which a marriage is arranged, typically for someone gravely ill, in the belief that the joyful occasion will drive away bad luck or illness and bring good fortune and recovery. It is rooted in superstitious or cultural beliefs about the transformative power of auspicious events. bride for their sickly son. (TL: Just click on the number beside the word to show the footnote box, then click again to close it.)
—
The Fu family had moved to Qingshi Village three years ago.
The Fu family’s matriarch, Zhou Shi2“Shi” (氏) is a suffix used in Chinese naming conventions to indicate a married woman’s maiden family name. It essentially means “of the [X] family.”, was originally from Qingshi Village. During a famine in her youth, she had to sell herself into slavery and was reportedly sold to the northern regions.
Many years later, Zhou Shi returned to Qingshi Village, widowed, bringing with her a sickly son and two grandsons.
Zhou Shi was truly a woman with a hard life.
The family she sold herself into was a wealthy household in the north. Later, when she came of age, she redeemed herself and married a traveling merchant surnamed Fu. Together, they had two sons and lived a life full of hope.
Who could have expected disaster to strike so suddenly? Tragedy befell the Fu family, and both her husband and eldest son died unexpectedly.
In an instant, the family lost its two pillars of support. Zhou Shi, being gentle-natured, was left with a weak and sickly younger son and two young grandchildren left behind by her eldest son. With such a large household, it wasn’t long before it attracted the attention of wolves and jackals from outside.
Zhou Shi had no choice but to sell off the family’s assets and return to her hometown with her youngest son and two grandsons.
Perhaps because she had lost her husband and eldest son, Zhou Shi placed great importance on her younger son.
Fu Wenxiao, the youngest son of the Fu family, was a sickly child. It was said that his illness was congenital, and despite taking numerous medications since childhood, he was never completely cured. Fortunately, the Fu family had money, so he was able to be well-fed and well-medicated, which allowed him to survive into adulthood.
When it came to her younger son, Zhou Shi was willing to spend whatever it took to keep him alive and well.
But sadly, Fu Wenxiao’s body simply couldn’t live up to expectations. He was sick almost all year round, constantly recuperating, and rarely able to leave his bed. Villagers seldom saw him and often remarked that he likely wouldn’t live long.
And they weren’t wrong.
Not long ago, news spread that Fu Wenxiao’s condition had worsened again, and this time it was particularly serious.
It was evident that his recovery was unlikely. Even doctors from the county advised the family to prepare for his funeral. In her grief, Zhou Shi—after hearing from someone about the potential benefits of a “marriage to ward off calamity”—decided to give it a try.
When Yu Laosan’s3Laosan (老三) is a common term in Chinese families used to refer to the third-born child. wife, Wang Shi, accidentally learned that Zhou Shi was planning to spend twenty taels of silver to buy a servant girl from Tile Market for Fu Wenxiao’s marriage to ward off calamity, she began to scheme.
Upon returning home, she said to her husband, “In our countryside, marrying a wife doesn’t cost anywhere near twenty taels. And yet Zhou Shi is willing to spend that much to buy a servant girl from Tile Market. With that money, why not find someone local?”
Twenty taels—enough to buy a mu4 Mu (亩): a traditional Chinese unit of area used for measuring land. Equivalent to approx. 666.7 square meters. of high-quality paddy field.
Yu Laosan immediately understood his wife’s intent.
Wang Shi continued, “Hasn’t Second Branch’s Yu Li been unable to secure a marriage proposal? Back then, Mother insisted on a bride price of twenty taels, which scared off all the suitors…”
In the countryside, bride prices usually didn’t exceed ten taels. For poorer families, even three to five taels could secure a decent wife. Twenty taels was an astronomical sum for rural households.
Yu Laosan was a resourceful man.
He had to be. With two elder brothers above him, the eldest naturally held the advantage of being the firstborn and received the most attention from their parents. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t surpass his eldest brother. As for his second brother, he was a simpleton who only knew how to work
tirelessly, living like an ox. Yu Laosan had no intention of toiling away like his second brother, working himself to the bone without any reward. He needed to carve out benefits for himself.
If he could arrange this marriage, he might even be able to squeeze a few taels of silver from their parents.
Even if he couldn’t get the money directly, he could negotiate with the old matriarch to reduce the amount of silver he’d need to contribute to the family’s collective funds when he worked outside in the future.
Since the Yu family hadn’t divided their assets, all their money was controlled by the old matriarch. Whenever the brothers earned wages from odd jobs in the county, they had to hand over their earnings to the collective family funds, leaving very little for themselves.
With this in mind, Yu Laosan became more enthusiastic about the plan.
Facilitating this marriage could only bring benefits to them, with no downsides. As for Second Branch and Yu Li’s opinions? They didn’t matter.
Thus, Yu Laosan approached the old matriarch with his proposal and successfully persuaded her.
In the eyes of the old matriarch, all the girls in the family were burdens. When her two daughters married off, she demanded hefty bride prices. Now that it was her granddaughter’s turn, she wouldn’t settle for less.
Yu Li was her first granddaughter, and the old matriarch had long made up her mind. When it came time for her to marry, the bride price couldn’t be less than twenty taels. With those twenty taels, the family could have some breathing room. After all, they were supporting two scholars, and no amount of money ever seemed to be enough.
Grandmother Yu immediately went to find Zhou Shi.
Zhou Shi was surprised to hear her proposal, but instead of being pleased, she appeared troubled and said frankly to Grandmother Yu, “Our Xiao Ge’er5Ge’er (哥儿): Literally translates to “little brother” or “young brother.” It’s a common affectionate suffix used for boys or young men. is gravely ill. The doctor said he might not make it much longer. I can’t ruin the reputation of an innocent girl. It’s better to buy someone from Tile Market…”
In these times, unless they were utterly desperate, what girl would willingly marry a dying man?
Those who sold themselves into servitude at Tile Market usually came from families so impoverished they couldn’t survive. Such individuals wouldn’t care about marrying someone on their deathbed. That was precisely why Zhou Shi wanted to buy a servant girl from Tile Market to marry her son and ward off calamity.
Grandmother Yu immediately reassured her, saying that Yu Li didn’t mind such things.
She enthusiastically said, “Sister, my Li Niang6Niang (娘) is a Chinese word that commonly means “mother” in many contexts, especially in older or rural Chinese dialects. However, it can also appear as part of a name or nickname to refer to a young woman or girl in a familial or affectionate manner. is capable. She handles everything inside and outside the house. If she marries into your family, you’ll have less to worry about. She’s strong too, even able to work in the fields… We’re all from the same village and know each other well. Instead of buying someone from Tile Market whose background you don’t know, why not marry my Li Niang?”
Zhou Shi, soft-hearted and indecisive, couldn’t withstand Grandmother Yu’s persuasion. Moreover, Fu Wenxiao was indeed gravely ill, having been unconscious for days. In her desperation, she had even come up with the idea of a Chong Xi marriage.
As she hesitated, Grandmother Yu leaned in conspiratorially and said, “Oh, you don’t know this, but when Li Niang was little, a fortune-teller said she was born with a destiny to turn misfortune into blessings and to overcome adversity. Whoever marries her will benefit greatly and escape calamities… Do you think I’d ask for such a high bride price for no reason? It’s because whoever marries Li Niang is getting an extraordinary blessing. I’m reluctant to part with her, but…”
Turning misfortune into blessings? Overcoming adversity?
That was exactly what Zhou Shi needed most right now. She was so worried about Fu Wenxiao’s illness that she was willing to try anything. She immediately agreed to the marriage.
Originally, her plan to buy a servant girl was just for the purpose of warding off calamity. Since this girl supposedly had an auspicious fate, why not have her marry her son and perhaps truly save him?
At this point, she had no other expectations. If Xiao Ge’er could survive, she was willing to do anything.
And so, Zhou Shi gave the Yu family twenty taels of silver as the bride price, marrying off Yu Li to her unconscious younger son, Fu Wenxiao.
—
This marriage was personally decided by Grandmother Yu, leaving Yu Li’s parents, the second branch of the family, with no way to object.
As for Yu Li, no one even thought to ask for her opinion.
Because Fu Wenxiao’s condition was critical, only three days passed from the time the marriage was arranged to the day Yu Li was married off. She packed a small bundle of belongings and entered the Fu family to ward off calamity.
The original Yu Li had a quiet, submissive nature, just like her parents. No one in the Yu family ever asked for her opinion. She simply worked tirelessly, treating herself as nothing more than a beast of burden for the family.
Even on her wedding day, she was busy from dawn till dusk.
The wedding itself was simple, held in the evening. The Yu family didn’t change their routine just because she was about to be married off. She was still expected to work as usual.
The summer sun was scorching, and in the afternoon, Yu Li had to gather pigweed under the blazing heat, which left her dizzy and disoriented. By the afternoon, she felt unwell—her head spun, her stomach churned, and she felt nauseous. Her complexion turned pale.
When she was sent to the Fu family in the evening, the fading light of day concealed her worsening condition.
That night, Yu Li lay groggily on the bed and never woke up again.
TL’s Note: New project alert! 🎉 I’ve got a lineup of exciting books ready to go hehe. This one is by the same author as Dating with the Fallen Lord, which you might have seen on my website. The book is still ongoing but I think the extras are almost finished.
For this book, I’ll be using more Chinese terms, especially with nicknames and suffixes—it seems to fit the setting better.
In case you missed the notes:
Notes:
1. Set in a fictional dynasty, with a highly fantastical take.
2. A slice-of-life farming story with family dynamics.
3. The heroine is exceptionally strong, and no amount of scheming can match up to absolute strength.